2013-07-23

Rookie Corey LaJoie Wins Career-First ARCA Race at Chicagoland Speedway

 

For Immediate Release:

Sunday, July 21, 2013 

 

 

(JOLIET, Ill.) - Corey LaJoie led when it counted Sunday, winning the Ansell ActivArmr 150 at Chicagoland Speedway in just his second career ARCA start. LaJoie passed leaders Justin Boston and Josh Williams just before taking the white flag and sailed to his biggest career win.

 

"It just all worked out," said the Richard Petty Motorsports development driver.

 

LaJoie, driving the No. 17 Sims Metal Management-Roulo Brothers Ford, led 36 of the first 52 laps. His team decided to pit on lap 80 for fuel and two tires, a strategy that worked in his favor when pole sitter Ryan Blaney ran out of fuel with seven laps to go and Boston appeared to do the same with two circuits left.

 

"With about 20 to go, Harold Holly (crew chief) said we were going to come in for fuel and tires and see if we can out smart them a little bit," LaJoie said. "I came in to get tires. After that it was just all-out racing.

 

"I saw the 25 (Boston) and he was way up there and my spotter said 'leader is out of gas' and I said 'sweet, we're coming to the white flag.'"

 

Cunningham Motorsports driver Blaney had built nearly a full lap lead on the rest of the field after taking the lead from LaJoie on lap 53. But, his car ran out of fuel with seven laps to go and Venturini Motorsports driver Justin Boston, in the No. 25 ZLOOP Computer & Electronics Recycling Toyota, inherited the lead. Then, on lap 98, Boston ran out of gas. He finished seventh, the first car one lap down.

 

Williams finished a career-best second in the No. 02 Allegiant Travel Ford, in his second race driving for Gallagher Motorsports. He was on the same pit strategy as Blaney and Boston, but was able to make it to the end.

 

"In practice, everybody does there fuel millage thing," Williams said. "We had really good fuel mileage. At the end I was just rolling out of it way early, but I was saving all I could."

 

With the runner-up finish, Williams moved up to fifth place in the ARCA Racing Series driver point standings.

 

Blaney, who led the most laps for the second time this season, had a huge lead on the rest of the field. He said he thought he could make it on fuel.  

 

"It was just a miscalculation," he said. "It sucks because that's twice we've had really fast race cars but didn't win because of something silly.

 

"Our thought was we could make it," he said. "I was trying to save fuel. We just missed it."

 

There were three cautions in the race, the last coming at lap 24 for fluid on the track. Most of the leaders pitted at that time. Will Kimmel, in the 69 Messina Wildlife Ford for Kimmel Racing, led the next 15 laps until LaJoie grabbed the lead until lap 42 when Blaney zoomed to the front.

 

Blaney led 41 laps in all, three more than LaJoie. Frank Kimmel, who led one lap in his No. 44 Ansell Menards Toyota, finished ninth, his 21st consecutive top-10 finish in the ARCA Racing Series.

 

Will Kimmel finished fourth. Phoenix, Arizona native Chad Boat placed fifth in his Southern Car Parts Toyota, with Mason Mingus in the No. 32 Team Construction-811 Call Before You Dig Toyota sixth, Boston seventh, Venturini Motorsports drivers Caleb Armstrong and A.J. Henriksen eighth and 10th, respectively.  

 

The 100-lap, 150-mile race took just under 1 hour and 10 minutes to complete.

 

LaJoie, the son of two-time NASCAR Nationwide Series champion Randy LaJoie, said he hopes to race in a couple more ARCA Racing Series events this season.

 

"It definitely makes all of the late nights and midnights and early mornings worth it," he said.

He called winning the Ansell ActivArmr 150 his biggest victory to date.

 

"I think every race win is your next-biggest career win," he said, thanking Richard Petty Motorsports and Roulo Brothers Racing for the combined effort. "Hopefully it keeps going up the ladder. It is hard to stay fresh when you're not in the race car. I don't mind not racing every now and then, but if I get the opportunity to race every week, I think I would be that much better." 

 

CONTACT:

Doug Donnelly, ARCA

Mobile: 419-574-2685

ddonnelly@arcaracing.com

  

Official Results
ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards

Ansell ActivArmr 150 at Chicagoland Speedway
Sunday, July 21, 2013  

 

FIN

STR

NO

DRIVER/HOMETOWN

LAPS

STATUS 

1

2

17

Corey LaJoie/Concord NC

100

Running

2

9

02

Josh Williams/Port Charlotte FL

100

Running

3

1

22

Ryan Blaney/Concord NC

100

Running

4

8

69

Will Kimmel/Sellersburg IN

100

Running

5

3

84

Chad Boat/Phoenix AZ

100

Running

6

6

32

Mason Mingus/Brentwood TN

100

Running

7

4

25

Justin Boston/Baltimore MD

99

Running

8

10

15

Caleb Armstrong/New Castle IN

99

Running

9

5

44

Frank Kimmel/Clarksville IN

99

Running

10

7

55

A.J. Henriksen/Elgin IL

99

Running

11

12

77

Tom Hessert/Cherry Hill NJ

98

Running

12

13

86

Dale Quarterly/Rockland MA

98

Running

13

11

23

Spencer Gallagher/Las Vegas NV

98

Running

14

22

43

David Levine/Highland Park IL

98

Running

15

16

35

Milka Duno/Caracas Venezuela

97

Running

16

18

40

Dominick Casola/Holmdel NJ

96

Running

17

25

48

James Hylton/Inman SC

93

Running

18

17

20

Tom Berte/New Berlin WI

93

Running

19

20

34

Darrell Basham/Henryville IN

33

Handling

20

21

06

James Swanson/Clarksboro NJ

29

Suspension

21

19

28

Mike Buckley/Ann Arbor MI

23

Axle

22

15

68

Mason Mitchell/W. Des Moines IA

19

Electrical

23

14

2

Thomas Praytor/Mobile AL

12

Accident

24

27

67

Chris Bailey/South Park PA

7

Rear end

25

24

97

Nick Tucker/Bremerton WA

2

Wheel Bearing

26

26

0

Wayne Peterson/Pulaski TN

1

Overheating

27

23

99

Galen Hassler/Columbia MO

0

Vibration


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 

Menards Pole Award Presented by Ansell: Ryan Blaney 31.158 seconds (173.310 mph)


 


 


 

Margin of Victory:   1.407 secs


 


 


 


 


 

Time of Race:   1:09:57


 


 


 


 


 

Lap Leaders: LaJoie 1-21, 23-24, 40-52, 99-100 (38); F. Kimmel 22 (1); W. Kimmel 25-39 (15);


 


 


 

Blaney 53-93 (41); Boston 94-98 (5)


 

 ARCAracing.com

ARCAnation.com 

Facebook.com/arcaracing 

Follow on Twitter @ARCA_Racing 

 

Posted by Marc Patrick Roy at 23.7.13

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)